MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama football team survived a first-half scare to stay undefeated with a 20-10 victory over the University of West Alabama Thursday night at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

The Jaguars scored on the game’s opening drive and never trailed, but sputtered offensively in the first half, gaining just 98 yards, none through the air, while turning the ball over four times in the opening two periods.

“In some ways we’re kind of glad it happened,” said USA Head Coach Joey Jones. “We were probably reading the press clippings a little too much. Sometimes in life, you have to make a mistake to see the big picture.”

For West Alabama, Gary Johnston of Gulf Shores accounted for 201 of the Tigers 268 yards of total offense, rushing for 100 yards on 22 carries and completing 10 of 22 passes with two interceptions for 101 yards.

“Gary’s a winner,” said UWA Head Coach Will Hall. “He’s a scrambler and an improviser. He got better in the passing game as the game went on. I think he has a chance to be a really good quarterback.”

But it was the South Alabama defense that kept the Jaguars in the game, holding UWA to just one score after the Tigers had the ball deep in USA territory three times in the first half.

“I thought the defense played extremely well,” Jones said. “Their backs were against the wall the entire first half. It seemed like every time they (West Alabama) got the ball, they had it at the 50-yard line and every time we got the ball, it was somewhere around the 15 or 20-yard line. But these are fixable things so we just have to look at it, evaluate it and get better.”

The Jaguars took the opening kickoff and drove 80 yards in nine plays. USA quarterback C.J. Bennett completed 4 of 5 passes on the drive for 56 yards, rushing twice for 21 yards, including an 18-yard quarterback keeper for the score. Jordan Means booted the extra point to put USA up 7-0 with 10:31 remaining in the opening period.

After UWA’s opening drive stalled at their own 34, the USA defense would pass its first test of the contest when Bennett’s pass was intercepted by Justin Hawkins, giving the Tigers the ball back at the USA 28.

After a short gain on first down, UWA pounced on its own fumble on second for no gain and Ken Barefield sacked Johnston all the way back into UWA territory at the 47. A delay of game penalty put the ball back at the 42, where the Tigers were forced to punt.

West Alabama would get a short field again after Jaguars netted just two yards on their next possession, but this time Johnston and the Tigers would capitalize, driving 46 yards in five plays behind the running of the UWA QB and running back T-Ray Mitchell, whose 31-yard run put the Tigers at the 3, where Johnston punched it in and Ryne Smith added the point-after to even things up at 7-7 with 2:12 remaining in the opening period.

Neither team scored in the second period as turnovers plagued the Jags and USA’s defense was able thwart two Tiger drives into their territory.

USA started its next drive with a minute remaining in the opening period, but would turn the ball over just over 30 seconds into the second quarter when Antonio Curry recovered a Bennett fumble, giving the Tigers the ball near midfield.

UWA gained a first down to the USA 41, but Enrique Williams stopped Tiger running back Matthew Willis for a loss of three yards, then after an incomplete pass, Johnston was stuffed for a four-yard loss by Clifton Crews and Will Thompson, forcing the Tigers to punt from the USA 44.

USA drove from their own 1 down to their own 40, but a penalty and a sack backed the ball up to the Jaguar 35 and Bennett’s pass was picked off by Otha Foster and UWA took over again in Jaguar territory at the 48.

West Alabama picked up a pair of first downs, but USA’s defense again stepped it up as Barefield intercepted a Johnston offering at the Jaguar 15 and returned the ball back to the 28.

USA turned the ball over again with just under 2 minutes remaining in the half after driving to the UWA 41, with Foster getting his second interception of the half for the Tigers, but three plays later, time ran out on the Tigers.

South would add another score after the defense held UWA to three-and-out to open the second half, driving 78 yards in 11 plays, including a 20-yard completion from Bennett to Bryant Lavender down to the Tiger 2. Kendall Houston punched it in from there and the point-after failed, leaving the score at 13-7 with 7:47 remaining in the third period.

The two teams traded drives with UWA taking over with 1:27 remaining in the third period and drove from their own 46, gaining a first and goal at the Jaguar 9-yard line.

But the drive sputtered as three plays netted just five yards and a holding penalty pushed the ball back to the USA 16 before Johnston’s pass to Ken May left the Tigers at the 5-yard line, where Smith booted a 22-yard fieldgoal to cut the lead to 13-10 with 10:58 remaining in the contest.

South took their next drive 66 yards in seven plays to put the cap on the contest for the Jaguars with Houston running the ball in from 10 yards out and Means added the extra point for a 10-pont advantage with 8:13 remaining on the clock.

The Jaguar defense came up with one final stop in the contest after UWA drove from their own 29 down to the USA 15. Barefield, Jake Johnson and Andy Dalgleish combined to tackle Mitchell for a three-yard loss on first down and, after throwing incomplete, Johnston’s pass was picked off in the endzone by Charles Harris to give USA the ball back with 4:22 remaining in the contest.

UWA got one final chance with 2:25 left to go, but did not use any of their three remaining timeouts, letting the clock run out just inside USA territory at the 44.

“I thought we came back and played well,” Jones said. “Offense is about execution and being able to move the ball down the field consistently. We have to learn to be a little more consistent offensively. I feel good about our guys and what we’re doing, we just have to play a little more consistently.”